Chapter Text
‘Just take a shortcut, they said. It’ll be fine, they said. Who’s definition of “fine” is this, anyway?!’
Those thoughts had been on a seemingly endless repeat inside your head for at least the last ten minutes. The sound of your shoes smacking the hard asphalt as you sped through alley after alley… Sidestreet after sidestreet…
On your way back from campus, you noticed a group of people following you. At first, you thought it was nothing to worry about, even when they continued to follow you as you met up with your friends that afternoon. You mentioned it in passing-almost too casually for their liking. As a human, it should be practically engraved into your DNA to fear anything that may be following you… After all, ghouls notoriously preyed on those who were alone, and defenseless… Statistically, it had been shown that walking alone, around late evening to early nightfall, would certainly get you eaten.
Yet, you had a hard time feeling such a fear. You never went anywhere without at least a small pocket knife somewhere on your person. Though you were not trained to fight, you were quite adept at taking care of yourself. Having walked home from your college campus for most of your freshman and sophomore year left you with considerable strength in your legs. At the very least, you knew if you were targeted by a ghoul, then you would be able to go down fighting.
So why… Why did you feel scared when put on the spot? While you were with your friends, you had stupidly declined their repeated offers to walk you back to your apartment. Boasting confidently that you had a few plans on how to ditch them in the fifth ward.
“Are you sure that’ll work (F/N)?”
“Seems a little reckless, if you ask me…”
“Don’t worry about it! I can handle myself.” You had so boasted nearly two hours prior, now.
A glance up at the sky spread forth a sense of dread in your heart. Because of your late classes, you often did not get home until the sun set… However, since you had been trying to lose these creeps since leaving your friends, you were running quite late in catching the last train home…
Crap… At this rate, you would either have to find a hotel to stay at, or catch a taxi back to you apartment.
Neither option seemed like a stellar idea, either. In a hotel, you were a sitting duck to these creeps. All a ghoul would have to do is track you down by scent and find a way through the flimsy barrier of the door… Given some of the abilities you had seen reported on the news recently, that was probably an easy feat for anyone of those guys; especially if they were hungry enough.
Catching a taxi was no good, either. All a ghoul would have to do at that point was climb in with you, and get off a few minutes after you got back to your apartment. Though you would have the advantage of knowing the area, it still was not an idea that sat well with you.
Two hours ago, at the insistence of you friends, you had taken one small amount of advice from them… Just in case your plans to ditch the creeps had failed as miserably as they currently had.
“It’s a little messy to do it this way, but cut through the fourth ward, if they keep following you. I heard that if you can lose them in the alleyways, then other ghouls will hunt them down.”
At the time, the idea had absolutely disgusted you… Yet, here you were… Trying your best to lose the nuisances. They were persistent, that was for sure. Even a creepy stalker surely would have given up, by now!
In your right hand, you clutched the strap of your art bag tightly: the fraying canvas scraping uncomfortably against the soft skin of your palm. You tried to focus on something… The sound of your pencils clattering together inside the pencil pouch… Your notes and textbooks smacking lightly against the side of your leg with each step you took… Even the sound of the mid autumn insects crying around you. Anything to take your mind off of the growing sense of dread that continued to bubble up inside your throat.
Your left hand curled into a tight fist inside the pocket of your (F/C) jacket-right where your knife was placed. In hindsight, you did not really want to fight a ghoul… They were much stronger than average humans… That was why the CCG existed, after all.
Not only that, with how long you had been walking around this ward, you were certain all you had done was attract more of their kind. Tonight just seemed to keep getting worse and worse…
Rounding a corner, you put yourself back out on the main roadway. It was not especially dark, yet-it was a Friday night, so many bars were still bustling with business. If you had not forgotten your ID, then you would have stopped in any of them to try an use a phone.
At the very least, you could have had a drink in a pathetic attempt to calm your nerves…
Heaving a sigh, you could take comfort in knowing that the streets were much more well lit on the main roadway. This also meant that there were more CCTV cameras mounted on the buildings, just in case you did turn up missing…
No! Those sorts of thoughts would only cause you to make even worse decisions than you already had. The news tower at the end of the street was blank, save for the current time that shown in bright red numbers. It was getting late… Far too late for your liking.
The footsteps behind you had slowed down, somewhat. This was comforting, if only for a little while.
Now then… The smart thing would be to duck inside a nearby building and ask someone for help. There was bound to be some place open that you would not need your ID for, right?
Well, that would have been the rational, well thought out approach to this situation, anyway…
Rather then do any of that, you gripped your bag as tightly as humanly possible and sprinted down the vacant sidewalk.
“What the-Oy! Go catch her!” One of the creeps shouted from behind you.
Your hand gripped tighter around your knife as the footsteps quickened in pace, trying desperately to match your own. They were either weakened from hunger, or were just leading you into a false sense of security to try and get you to slow down… Knowing how bad your luck had been tonight, you were willing to wager that fate had planned the latter option especially for you.
As you ran, your bag smacked roughly against your legs. You considered ditching it a few times along the way, only to clutch it closer towards your body. A rather senseless gesture to a rational mind… But, as an art student, the bag often held a large percentage of the work that would eventually make its way into your portfolio for the end of the year exams. On this particular day, you had just put the finishing touches on a sketch for your next oil painting, and you had already determined you were not about to lose it.
‘Go snack on someone else if you want an easy meal.’ You thought bitterly to yourself. Much as you wished and willed your tormentors away, they seemed to endlessly pursue you. Despite the cold fear that washed over you, a subconscious thought told your body to keep moving; that if you were caught, then you would at least have made their meal taste disgusting.
Tearing around a corner to your immediate right, you felt that same dread from early claw at your throat. Another alleyway?! Just how many of these would you have to go down tonight?! Street lights flickered as the footsteps drew dangerously close to you. Rolling storm clouds overhead obscured any light the moon may have tried to offer, otherwise.
Out of the corner of your eye, you spied one lonely sidestreet right as you were about to run by it. Skidding to a halt, your shoes slid in what was left of a puddle from the afternoon rainstorm. You caught yourself on the wall just before your feet gave out. Though you staggered on the slick ground, you quick thinking did put some distance between you and your tormentors.
“Idiots! The other way!” One of the ghouls chasing you shouted.
The stench of fresh graffiti was damn near sickening as you tore down the vacant street. Vagrants lazing about in the street spouted nonsense as you ran by; throwing half empty glass bottles in your direction. Thankfully for you, their aim was quite terrible-shattering as they connected with the building walls beyond your.
With your school bag clenched tightly to your chest, you immediately ducked into the first opening you could find. It was quite dark, wherever you were. Why the door had been left open was hard to fathom, if the business was closed. Maybe the owner had just forgotten to lock up for the night? If that was the case, it probably would not be a smart idea to hang out here for too long. The owner may realize this at some point, and discover you when he came back…
Heaving a deep breath to steady your nerves, you rifled through your bag and grabbed your phone out. You did not hear the footsteps in here, yet. Perhaps they had stopped to look for you elsewhere. If that was the case, then you may have enough time to call the police. At the very least, then you could call your friend to come pick you up. You just hoped the shop you had ducked into was not some gang hideout.
As the light from your phone shone around you, it soon became apparent that you were not alone in the building. An odd looking young man stood only a few inches away from you: staring curiously at your face. The man was dressed entirely in dark colors, making it easy for him to blend into the darkness of the building. His dark hair swept to the right, whereas the left side had been shaved. He was quite pale, especially in the glowing light of your cell phone. Black onyx and silver piercings shone brightly, even in this meager light.
However, what immediately stood out to you were his eyes. Completely black in color, with a red iris… The tell tale eyes of a ghoul.
Your grip on your phone tightened the second you saw him. Had one of the ghouls from earlier managed to find you? You had not gotten a good look at them earlier, so you supposed it was possible. The man tilted his head slightly as he continued to stare at you.
“Boo.”
You were not sure why you decided that particular moment would be the best time to freak out… Any sensible person would have started screaming as soon as they realized they were not alone, instead of awkwardly stare at the other person.
As the man spoke, your train of thought was immediately broken. Rain slick shoes slipped on the smooth metal floor, as you tried to put some distance between yourself and the monster. The singular thought on your mind was to continue to run… To not give up and allow yourself to be eaten.
Not realizing there was a staircase to your immediate right, your foot gave out under the missing space. In a pitiful attempt to regain your footing, you staggered once again on the staircase-dropping your phone almost immediately in your haste. A shriek lodged itself inside your throat as you fell. In the back of your mind, you knew the weight of your bag against your chest would only add to your injuries, once you landed at the bottom of the stairs.
Unconsciously, you reached out with your free hand: a desperate attempt to try and save yourself from serious injury… Especially with a ghoul in the same room.
Just as you thought this, a strong hand snatched you by the wrist and pulled you back on to the top stair. In an instant, you found yourself held securely against the stranger. The only barrier between the two of you being your school bag. His hand warm against your wrist, albeit slightly calloused. His gaze, oddly enough, was not menacing, that you could tell. Rather, he stared curiously at you-almost as though he had never seen a human up close before… A breathing one, that is.
“Humans sure are clumsy.” The stranger said almost matter of factly. Before you could wrench yourself free of his grasp, the man released his hold on you. Leaning down, he picked your phone up from where it had clattered to the stairs, then held it out to you.
He tilted his head slightly to the side as you could only back away from him. It was a sickening feeling… To be trapped in a strange part of town, with ghouls after you from seemingly every direction. You wanted to run, phone or not, as far away from this ward as your legs would allow.
So why? Why was your body not obeying the commands of your brain? Why could you only stand there in a horrified silence as the stranger tried to offer your phone back? That had to be a trap, right?
“Hm? Is something wrong? Did you get hurt?” The stranger asked, as his gaze drifted to the dip in the stairs.
“If you keep backing up, you’re just going to fall again.” He pointed out, this time with a bit more of an annoyed tone of voice. Minimal brows furrowed as he spoke. Luckily, you had the sense to stop moving the second he spoke, otherwise you would have tumbled down the stairs… Something in the back of your head said he was not going to prevent your fall a second time.
“What are you doing here? It’s awfully late for humans to be out, especially in this ward.”
The man once again tried to offer your phone back to you, this time your hand cautiously reaching out to take it. Half expecting the ghoul to snatch you forward again, and try to eat you. His grip on your phone was half hearted, at best, sliding into your hand with ease.
“I… Was on my way to the station.” You answered quietly, throat dry from the exertion of running from the ghouls. Swallowing harshly against the dry, sticking feeling in your throat. You were not entirely certain just how much to reveal to this man… After all, he could be friends with those freaks from earlier.
“I guess I got lost on the way. I didn’t mean to barge in so suddenly. I’m very sorry.” You added with a low bow of your head, your eyes never wavering from the man before you.
“Lost? That was a lot of noise for something like that; sounded like you were being chased.” He pointed out, his brow quirking north in an obvious disbelief.
Your face paled hearing this. Had it really been that obvious? Blank, E/C, eyes stared back at him as you slowly straightened your back.
“I… Well… That is…” What were you meant to say in a situation like this?
The ghoul sighed heavily at you once again, as though he had just realized why you were so paranoid of his presence there.
“If you’re worried I’m going to try and eat you, then you can relax. Adrenaline makes meat taste gamey.” He stated bluntly, as though that should have been common knowledge for even a small child.
Gamey? He spoke as though he were referring to the meats humans would consume, rather than the flesh ghouls would actively hunt. As far as you knew, all ghouls were not shy about hunting for their food, unless the CCG had announced their presence in the area. How could he say something like that?
“Um… Who are you?” You asked, suddenly feeling queasy at the thought of human meat and adrenaline tainting.
“Me? I’m Uta, and this is my studio.” He replied, gesturing to the bottom of the stairway with a wave of his hand. Shining the light from your phone down, you could just make out a small indent in the far left wall where a door had been placed. A lavender colored rug, reading Hysy Art Studio had been placed carefully at the entrance.
You had heard of this place before-one of your friends was talking about being dared to visit the studio by her boyfriend, and some of his track mates. Of course, the rest of your small group had told her it was a stupid idea, because it was rumored to be run by a ghoul. In the end, only one of her boyfriend’s track mates had gone, and had even bought a mask from the studio… Though he would not say whether or not the rumors were true.
“Uta… I apologize for barging in so suddenly, again. But, you’re right, I was being chased… This was the first place I saw that I could duck into and lose the ghouls that were chasing me.” You clarified. Though it was not much to go on, you were acquainted with someone who made it out of the studio alive…. Maybe he really would not eat you.
“Ghouls were chasing you near here?” His question seemed strange, you thought. As though it were not something that happened often. How could it not, though? The fourth ward was, reportedly, one of the worst prefectures infested with ghouls.
“They must be new… I’ll have to deal with that later.” Uta mumbled to himself as he turned to face the exit.
“Regardless, it’s dangerous to walk through this part of town by yourself. I’ll walk you to the station Ms…” He trailed off, realizing you had never given your name to him.
“Eh? Oh, you don’t have to…” Trailing off as he raised an eyebrow at you once again. With a heavy sigh, you clenched your fingers around your bag once again, as your other hand turned the light off your phone and placed it back inside the small pouch,
“F/N… Thank you for your help.” You replied as the ghoul pushed the door open, standing aside long enough for you to step back out into the mid autumn night. By now, the sky had grown dark-with only the light from the half moon and waning street lights to shine your way down the street.
Uta remained silent as he shut the door behind him, and locked it for the night. Though it was not unusual for him to go out of his way to help a human, they were rarely so cooperative. Poor thing must have been running for quite a while, he wagered.
“Come on. The station’s not far. If we hurry, you’ll make the last train.”